Vitaliy Hryhorovych Khmelnytskyi (Ukrainian: Віталій Григорович Хмельницький; 12 June 1943 – 13 February 2019) was a Soviet football player and coach from Ukraine.[1]

Vitaliy Khmelnytskyi
Personal information
Full name Vitaliy Hryhorovych Khmelnytskyi
Date of birth (1943-06-12)12 June 1943
Place of birth Tymoshivka, Orichiw gebit, Reichskommissariat Ukraine
Date of death 13 February 2019(2019-02-13) (aged 75)
Place of death Kyiv, Ukraine
Position(s) Left outside forward, Left winger
Youth career
Azovmash youth
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1961 Azovstal Zhdanov 18 (3)
1962–1964 Shakhtar Donetsk 73 (8)
1965–1972 Dynamo Kyiv 217 (54)
Total 308 (65)
International career
1965–1971 USSR 20 (7)
Managerial career
1973–1974 Granit Cherkasy
1978–1979 Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Playing

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Khmelnytskyi was born near Huliaipole. His father went missing in action during the World War II. In 1947 Khmelnytskyi family moved to Zhdanov city (Mariupol). While being Ukrainian speaking, due to lack of schools in native language in Mariupol Khmelnytskyi had to study in Russian speaking school (Russification in Ukraine).[2]

The first coaches of Khmelnytskyi was Yevhen Shpinev at Azovstal youth. Khmelnytskyi started his professional career playing for the 1961 Class B (3rd tier) team Azovstal Zhdanov (FC Mariupol). Next year he was invited by Oleh Oshenkov to Shakhtar Donetsk on recommendations of Yevhen Shpinev and Oleh Zhukov. Donning #11 on his jersey, he replaced Valentyn Sapronov. During his career in Shakhtar, Khmelnytskyi missed the chance to earn a trophy as he was not placed for the final match (1962 Soviet Cup Final), while the next year Shakhtar lost it.

Following 1964 season due to determined wish of CSKA Moscow team to obtain him, Khmelnytskyi decided to join Dynamo Kyiv with which he became four times national champion. In transferring of Khmelnytskyi to Dynamo was involved Vladimir Shcherbitsky. In Dynamo Khmelnytskyi who preferred to play with right foot replaced Valeriy Lobanovskyi on the Dynamo's left flank.

First time Khmelnytskyi was ejected during a 1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup quarterfinal match against Celtic Glasgow in Tbilisi when he hit Jim Craig in a nose.

Due to injuries, Khmelnytskyi retired early in 29.

Coaching

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Soon after retiring, Khmelnytskyi became a coach. He became among the first who enrolled into the Moscow Coaching Courses along with Eduard Malofeyev, Viktor Prokopenko, Pavel Sadyrin, Gennadiy Logofet, Vladimir Fedotov, others. In 1973 Khmelnytskyi was appointed a manager of recently relegated FC Dnipro Cherkasy that lost its status as a "team of masters". Renamed to Hranyt in two seasons the Cherkasy team returned to the Second League. Yet it did not stay there too long as the club in 1974 appeared in a middle of a corruption scandal.[3] This corruption case reached to be dealt at a level of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine and feuilleton at the Muscovite newspaper "Pravda" under an eloquent title "Gild the leg".[3]

After coaching Kryvbas, Khmelnytskyi lost interest in managing professional teams and became a sports complex director of the Kyiv factories until eventually received an invitation to become a children coach at the Dynamo football academy.[4]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Azovstal Zhdanov Soviet Football Championship Soviet Cup 22 3
1961 Class B 20 3 2 0
Shakhter Donetsk 1962 Class A 11 1 1 0 12 1
1963 Class A First Group 33 2 4 0 37 2
1964 Class A First Group 29 5 2 0 31 5
Total 73 8 7 0 80 8
Dinamo Kiev 1965 Class A First Group 29 10 4 4 33 14
1966 Class A First Group 31 8 5 0 2 0 38 8
1967 Class A First Group 35 6 1 0 2 0 38 6
1968 Class A First Group 37 10 2 1 39 11
1969 Class A First Group 31 8 2 1 2 0 35 9
1970 Class A Top Group 23 5 2 0 25 5
1971 Top League 30 7 4 0 34 7
1972 Top League 1 0 4 0 5 0
Total 217 54 20 2 10 4 247 60
Career total 310 65 29 2 10 4 349 71

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Soviet Union 1965 4 0
1966
1967 1 0
1968
1969 5 4
1970 7 1
1971 3 2
Total 20 7

International goals

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International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 20 February 1969 Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia 6   Colombia 1–2 1–3 Friendly
2 1–3
3 25 July 1969 Zentralstadion, Leipzig, East Germany 7   East Germany 1–2 2–2
4 16 November 1969 Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey 10   Turkey 1–2 1–3 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 6 June 1970 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico 15   Belgium 0–4 1–4 1970 FIFA World Cup
6 18 September 1971 Dynamo Central Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union 20   India 4–0 5–0 Friendly
7 5–0

International career

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He capped 20 times for USSR and scored 7 times. Khmelnytskyi played at the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Since he did not fit into the tactical scheme of Nikolai Morozov, Khmelnytskyi missed the 1966 FIFA World Cup and instead of him at the World Cup played Valeriy Porkuyan.

Just before his first match against Greece in Piraeus, Khmelnytskyi had blood running out of his nose due to heat. The away friendly the Soviet team has won 4:1.

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "Пішов з життя знаменитий форвард Динамо Віталій Хмельницький". 13 February 2019.
  2. ^ Хмельницкий: «В мое время мужчины играли в мужской футбол». footclub.com.ua. 12 June 2018
  3. ^ a b Oleksiy Kharchenko. Lost hope of Cherkaskyi Dnipro (Потерянная надежда черкасского Днепра). Football.ua. 12 May 2009
  4. ^ Хмельницкий без гетманских амбиций. www.footclub.com.ua
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